When A Stranger Calls
by laurenventi
Summary: Another 'what if' story. What if instead of Jess calling at Rory's graduation, he called before when Lorelai was at the inn and there were no other distractions around. Oneshot.


**A/N: Another oneshot, yay!! Picks up when Lor tells Rory Jess left. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I wrote Santa a letter asking him if I could be the owner of GG. Think he'll say yes?**

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_"To err is human, to forgive is divine."-Alexander Pope_

_--_

"Jess is gone." Lorelai fills Rory in.

Rory lowers her head, having a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Gone where?"

"Luke knows, but he wouldn't say," Lor continues. "But he doesn't seem to think he's coming back."

She regretted the question now. "Neither do I." She admits.

"Hun?" Lorelai questions, tilting her head with a smile of sympathy on her face. Rory looks up, tears visible in her eyes. "Are you okay?"

Rory lets out a sigh, choking back tears that are threatening to fall. "I will be, I just…wanna go home…"

"Okay." Feeling sorry for her daughter, she would've found a way to get a million dollars if Rory had asked for it.

--

A few days later, Lorelai is at the inn and Rory is in the kitchen warming takeout. The beeper goes off signaling that the food is done. Rory takes it out and carries it to her room and rests it on the bed while she changes out of her uniform. She then grabs her book off the night stand and leans against the backboard of the bed. The phone rings. Rory sighs getting up.

"Hello?" She sighs exasperated. She doesn't hang up because she can hear breathing on the other end. "Hello?" No response. "I have better things to be doing than to listen to this. If you don't say anything soon, I'm gonna assume that you don't have any intention on saying anything and I'm gonna…" In the middle of her rant the unknown caller cuts her off.

"Hi."

Rory stops abruptly and her breathing hitches in her throat and her heart rate increases ten fold. "Jess?" A part of her hoping that she was hallucinating and it isn't him.

"How are you?" Jess asks shifting his weight from foot to foot.

No such luck.

"How am I?" She wonders aloud. "How do you think I am?" She wanders how naïve he can get.

"Rory…" He starts knowing where this is going. He regrets calling now.

She cuts him off. "You just left." She's whispering now, once again close to tears.

"I know."

"Why?" Right now her curiosity is surpassing the hurt and anger she was feeling and she doesn't care.

"I couldn't stay there anymore…I wasn't graduating and I—I disappointed the only two people in my life who gave me a chance and didn't judge me…" He's picked up most of her traits by now, especially ranting. He can hear silent sobs on the other end—it devastates him.

"Why'd you call, Jess?" She's falling apart now she was actually doing better over the past couple of days, but doing what Jess did best: He ruined it, just like he ruined them.

"I said I would." Even he knew it wasn't that simple.

"Bull—you never do anything you say you would." She's losing her patience and it hurts. She's tired of waiting on him—for him.

"When it comes to you…" He trails off.

She is silent now. It threw her off. "Jess…" With one word she's silently begging him not to do this to her. Not to carry her through this again.

"I just wanted to okay." He shouts unintentionally. She looks taken aback and because she is silent he regrets it. "Sorry."

She's feeling all different emotions now and no words can describe how shocked she is: he's never apologized before. She figures he must be surprised too because he's silent. And he is.

"Um…it's okay." She speaks up. She picks up her fork picking around her food, but she knows she's not gonna eat any—at least not right now.

Jess breaks the silence. "I wanted to explain, this…our situation." He doesn't know why he calls it an 'our situation' because he knows they aren't an 'our'. Not anymore. And even she knows—and he chose it. But she still likes that he said it anyway.

"Right."

"I…don't want you to hate me." And even he's surprised at what comes out of his mouth. Its not what he intended to say.

"I don't hate you—okay, maybe I do…a little…at first anyway." She admits.

"And now?" He furthers the conversation.

" 'Now'?" She wanders what'll happen if she answers, where this conversation will lead them. "Now…I don't know I don't think I can even if I tried." She decides it'll go nowhere.

"I'm glad."

"I think part of the reason its hard for me to hate you is," She continues despite her better judgment and that feeling in the pit of her stomach. "I think I may have loved you." She doesn't think, she knows she loved him—loves.

Jess is silent. He doesn't know what to say. "Rory…" He starts.

"I didn't say that just to get pity…" She cuts him off quickly. "Or for you to say it back. I just…" She shakes her head. "I don't know why I said it."

Jess sighs. "I'll never be right for you, Rory." Beat. "You know that."

"That's not true." She can't help but tell him because even though he hurt her, she'll always miss him and she'll always want him to come back for her.

"Yes it is." The calmness in his voice makes it worse. She'd prefer he shout. There it was again. The heart-rendering silence. Rory glances around the room as Jess contemplates what to say. "I didn't call to argue or to have us out." There it was again. 'Us'. They both realized it.

"No apparently you called because you wanted to." She's mocking him now and he knows it. As soon as she says it, she wishes she could take it back. Eat her words. "That was…out of line."

"I deserved that." Pause. "You and me, it is what it is. I'm to blame." They both contemplate his words before Rory speaks a second later.

"No, you're not. I could've been there for you—I could've made you talk or…"

"Rory, no matter what you said I wouldn't have listened. I was stubborn—still am." He tries to convince her.

"Yes, it is." She whispers.

"No. It's not. It was absolutely, one hundred percent my fault."

"But I could've done something, anything. Maybe if I did then we'd still be…you'd still be here…"

He gives up on trying to make her see that this was inevitable. He sighs, but smiles. "You're stubborn, you know that?"

Rory laughs. For a second—and just for a second, they forget what brought them here in the first place. The front door opens and Lorelai enters.

"Rory!" She calls upon entering the house.

Rory curses under her breath. "Coming!"

"So, your mom hates me, huh?"

Rory smiles. "She is so beyond hate at this point."

"Figures…so, you better…" He signals with his hand even though she can't see him.

"Yea." She has yet to move as she taps her fingers on the bed post. Lorelai shouts 'Marco' and Rory hears the closet door close and the coffee maker start. "I better go." She stands and heads for the door.

Jess takes a deep breath. "I love you."

Rory moves back to the bed and retakes her seat, taken off guard. Once again she ignores Lorelai's calls. "…I love you, too."

Jess continues. "But, I can't come back for you. I just—I can't."

And the tears silently fall once more. "I know."

"I'll always love you Rory."

"Me too."

He nods. "You know where to find me," He reminds her, adding. "I still have yet to see that withering stare of yours." Rory laughs through teary eyes. Nothing like a good reference to ease the tension.

Rory nods. "Bye Jess."

"Bye Rory." As hard as it was he hung up.

Rory stares at the phone and then got up to join Lor in the kitchen, continuing on like the phone call never happened.

--

**A/N: So what did you guys think? I was hesitant about posting this because I wrote this like years ago--literally--3 years to be exact. Review please!!**


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